Obscene salaries

English is on the button with his concerns about a large pay rise for the NZ Super Fund’s CEO. Not only does the evidencebased research almost universally condemn the rationale and need for large annual salaries for CEOs across the board, but the NZ Super Fund suffers a double whammy, because the research also strongly suggests passive investment over active fund management is the way to go.

Catherine Savage’s comment on the salary is devoid of analysis, and the old chestnuts of comparisons to overseas payments and market forces lack substance.

What is needed is a benchmarking formula, something like the Swedish proposal of 12 times the average wage, plus a wealth tax to help bridge the gap between rich and poor. Governments need to start talking down the obscene CEO salaries trend of the past 30 years.

Alec Waugh, Takapuna.